Beyond Identities Initiatives (BII)

South Africa. Young LGBTI activists from Soweto, Kliptown and Thembisa have come together and formed a group. Their main focus is to seek out opportunities that enhance their life skills and broaden their understanding on sexuality and identity. They host regular workshops on computer training, human-rights training and engaging in spaces that address violence towards LGBTI persons. Iranti-org works with Beyond Identities Initiatives (BII) and most recently we have presented on Identities and the Body. BII attended Iranti-org’s workshop on Arts and Activism. Currently, we are working on a youth-and-parents dialogue.

Forum for the Empowerment of Women (FEW)

South Africa. FEW was established by black lesbian women activists living in Johannesburg in 2001. In a post-1994 South Africa and with the new constitution of 1996 recognising sexual orientation within the equality clause, it was clear that we had to organize ourselves to ensure that we were able to claim and live the rights entrenched
in the constitution. Read more...

Friends of RAINKA

Zambia. Establishlishing member services based on identified needs and priorities, we research, gather, analyze and disseminate information. Our aim is to have Zambia view Human rights as indivisible and universal - as is enshrined in international law. RAINKA aims to protect, advance and promote the Human Rights of Zambian sexual minorities by engaging law and policy makers in legal reform, whilst building capacity to undertake effective advocacy.

Global Action for Trans* Equality (GATE)

Global. Global Action for Trans* Equality (GATE) is a trans* network coordinator, facilitator and advocate to the ‘outside’ world. GATE works to unite trans* movements for common goals, while developing trans* agendas on a conceptual policy level. GATE assists trans* movements and structures at the local, national and regional level, in order to facilitate the development of a new global networks of trans* organizations. Important to the work of GATE is its support of constructive communications between existing groups and new audiences. GATE has started a dialogue with the WHO, the UN and other international actors about the urgently needed reform of medical classifications of trans* identities, which is erroneously referred to as a ‘personality disorder’.

Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ)

Zimbabwe. Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) supports transgender people whose gender identity is different from the sex assigned at birth. It also includes people who express gender in ways that contravene what society expects from a man or woman. This umbrella term includes cross dressers, drag kings/queens, transsexuals, people who are androgynous as well as people who do not identify with any labels. GALZ pushes for social tolerance of sexual minorities, the repeal of homophobic legislation and the initiation and maintenance of HIV programmes.

Gender DynamiX

South Africa. Gender DynamiX is the first African based organisation solely focusing on the transgender community. The aim of our organisation is to provide help, advise and information for those who seek to adjust their lives to live in the opposite gender role, as to that assigned to them at birth, or who are working to come to terms with their situation despite their genetic background. Gender DynamiX provides resources, information and support to trans folks, their partners, family employers and the public.

Hector Pieterson Museum

South Africa. The Hector Pieterson Museum is a large museum located in Orlando West, Soweto, South Africa, two blocks away from where Hector Pieterson was shot and killed. The museum is named in his honour. It became one of the first museums in Soweto when it opened in 16 June 2002. A companion museum nearby is Mandela House, the former home of Nelson Mandela and his family, which has been run as a museum since 1997.

Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals of Botswana (LEGABIBO)

Botswana. LEGABIBO was founded by Ditshwanelo, the Center for Human Rights in 1998 as a project and after a period of underfunding resurfaced under BONELA Botswana Network on Ethics, Laws and HIV/AIDS, a non-governmental organization (NGO). LEGABIBO has tried to register their constitution with the Registrar of Societies, Ministry of Labour and Home affairs, but this has been rejected because the constitution of Botswana does not recognise the human rights of gay Botswanians. The latest attempt to change the constitution will see its result in March 2016. LEGABIBO is part of the movement to make the African continent safe for LGBTI.

S.H.E.

Africa. S.H.E, is a social, health and empowerment feminist collective of transgender and intersex women of Africa. S.H.E, trans* feminism is more than aligning the transgender movement to the feminist movement in Africa. They are pioneering an African trans* feminist movement aimed at inclusion. S.H.E challenges conventional conservative views on feminism; and therefore they seek to expand feminism to recognise the problems of African trans and intersex women within the feminist sphere.

South African National AIDS Council (SANAC)

South Africa. The South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) was formed to strengthen the strong political leadership as well as to ensure inclusion of civil society in the overall response to HIV and AIDS. The Council is composed of both government and civil society organisations.
Read more...

Transgender Equality Uganda (TEU)

Uganda. TEU a human rights organization started and led by transgender women in Uganda. It strives to create space for transwomen, to speak out; and mainstream transpeople rights in Uganda's gender emancipation and feminist movement.

Transgender Intersex Africa (TIA)

South Africa. Transgender and Intersex Africa is organisation that has been initiated and is led and staffed by black transgender and intersex individuals to focus on black transgender and intersex issues in South Africa. Our aim is to break the silence and stop ignorance about the existence of the black Transgender and Intersex community in South Africa especially in the rural areas and black townships. We also want to bring the knowledge of applicable terminologies and a better understanding of the condition, however not dismissing the indigenous knowledge of African transgender and intersex identity.

Trans-Support Initiative, Uganda (TSIU)

Uganda. Trans-Support Initiative, Uganda (TSIU) is a non-profit organization that works to promote an accepting, nurturing, supportive, and protective environment for Gender Minorities in Uganda. TSUI condemns all forms of violence against gender non-conforming people, including, but not limited to media-shaming and outings, sustained mob justice, exclusion to access to basic needs of life, and physical, sexual and gender-based violence. TSUI also condemns the moralization and sexualisation of the transgender gender.

Uthingo-The Rainbow

South Africa. Uthingo an LGBTI group based in Daveyton, Etwatwa and the greater Benoni. Uthingo-The Rainbow is a community-based NGO focusing on empowerment and building activism based on skills development. Uthingo-The Rainbow is collaborating with Iranti-org on building media activists. Iranti-org is working and training six members of Uthingo-The Rainbow on photography, social media and civic reporting.

GENDERDYNAMIX

The recent revelations by Keeping Up With The Kardashian’s star Bruce Jenner that he has decided to become a woman has created a spotlight on gender identity across the world. Gender DynamiX was interviewed on Expresso SABC

S.H.E.

Leigh Ann van der Merwe is the Director of the Social Health Empowerment forum better know as SHE. Transgender awareness became an interest for the South African media when Bruce Jenner in the US came out. Leigh Ann is interviewed on this and speaks about the struggles we face in South Africa as trans* person. This is a podcast from that interview. Listen to the interview on Sound Cloud.